This invention relates to a device for protecting and separating golf clubs in a golf bag and for facilitating convenient insertion of a golf club in the golf bag. The device further serves as an indicator to a golfer that a golf club is removed from the golf bag. More particularly, the invention is directed to a device comprising an arrangement of two elongated cylindrical tubes, a plurality of which devices can be used in golf bags for separating and protecting golf clubs. An inner tube, having a spring disposed therearound, is positioned within an outer tube. The spring is retained between the cylindrical surfaces of the tubes with an arrangement of stops so that when a golf club is placed in the inner tube, the spring is compressed and the inner tube is slidably received within the outer tube. When the golf club is removed, the spring decompresses and partially ejects the inner tube from the outer tube. The ejected inner tube serves as a convenient guide for replacement of the golf club in the bag and as a reminder to the golfer that a golf club is missing from the bag.
While the invention is particularly directed to the art of golf club holders and will be thus described with specific reference thereto, it will be appreciated that the invention may have usefulness in other fields and applications.
A wide variety of golf club holding, separating, and/or protecting tubes are known. However, those known do not show the specific tube and spring relationship of the present invention.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,746,014 to Very is directed to a tubular protective device for storing a golf club. The embodiments disclosed are adapted to rise above the level of the other tubes in the golf bag when the golf club is removed from the device. The Very patent does not, however, show a coiled spring wrapped about an inner tube positioned within an outer tube nor a series of stops arranged on and between the tubes to facilitate restricted relative motion between the tubes.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,200,131 to Chitwood et al. discloses a device for carrying golf clubs which includes a molded upper plate having individual holes for the handles and shafts of the clubs to be carried and having contoured surfaces coinciding with the loft angle of the clubs so that each club can be maintained with its striking face in contact with a mating surface while it is being transported in the device. The Chitwood et al. patent, however, does not show a tube that can be ejected from another tube by activation of a spring. The series of stops, effective to prevent over-ejection of tubes in the present invention, is not shown in the Chitwood et al. patent. Moreover, the Chitwood et al. patent provides no apparent means for indicating whether a club is removed from a bag, an objective of the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,029,136 to Jacoby shows a device which can be attached to a golf club bag which allows a user to select a particular club by elevating the desired club itself above the other clubs. This action aids in the removal of the club from the bag. While the Jacoby patent discloses a spring mechanism for ejecting a club to an elevation above other clubs, it does not show a tube within a tube arrangement nor does it show a spring means wrapped around one of the tubes. Additionally, it does not provide a specific stop arrangement nor a convenient indicator with respect to whether a club is contained in the golf bag.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,944,396 to Larkin teaches a device for indicating whether and from which location a club has been removed from a golf bag. The Larkin patent, though, does not show a spring mechanism nor a tube within a tube arrangement.
Finally, U.S. Pat. No. 5,103,974 to Antonious shows that a golf club holder insert having a compartment formed of a telescoping member is vertically adjustable with respect to a tube. The Antonious patent does not show a tube within a tube arrangement nor does it show that a tube can be raised, or ejected, by means of a spring.